Chapter 27: Now and Then, Spooky and Sweet

Jane watched, arms crossed over her toga and hair snakes bobbing in displeasure, as her father crouched and tilted his camera toward the glass of the vending machine. "Um, Dad…"

The shutter clicked and he whispered, "Got it." Vincent stood up and gave her a small smile. "The spider is gone now, honey." He rejoined Amanda on one of the hospital waiting room's ghastly floral couches, leaving Jane to liberate her fruit snacks at long last.

As she made her way back, she noticed a middle-aged woman in country club attire giving Daria a wide berth. Frankly, Madame Regatta's concern was understandable. Daria was dressed as Countess Bathory for Halloween, and Jane had painted her from the neck down with disturbingly realistic cascades of blood. Daria wanted to play up the "bloody bath time" angle, so Jane had carefully painted in swirls of iridescent bubbles to match the foamy, frothy floor-length sheath she wore. Daria had completed the look with blood spattered bunny slippers, just for fun.

Jane took her seat and tilted the open bag of fruit snacks toward Daria. "Excuse me, Countess, would you care for something heavily processed and fruit-adjacent?"

Daria flipped the bag around and read aloud, "Corn syrup. Yellow number six." She gave the bag a sniff and handed it back. "Not even a whiff of unholy terror. Pass."

Ten more minutes of waiting went by, and Jane was thoughtfully chewing some purple fruit snacks—trying to determine if there was, in fact, any fruit in them—when a noticeably tipsy and overdressed couple walked through the doors. Tom's mother tripped on the entry rug, sending a bejeweled mask flying from her left hand as she gripped Angier's arm with her right. For a moment she giggled, but stopped herself when she saw Trent and Quinn's waiting families. She straightened her glittering black gown, asked Angier to retrieve her mask, and put on a smile as she strode, with the slightest occasional wobble, toward the assembled party. "Hello, everyone. How is Quinn's labor coming along? A week early—what a surprise!"

Helen set her coffee down and replied, "Well, we haven't heard a peep in an hour or so. The boys are in the delivery room with her, and the last time Trent stepped out, he said she'd just asked for an epidural."

Daria clarified, "Her exact words were 'Put a needle in me, hamster scrubs—yes, you with the tacky earrings.'"

Jake gave a nervous laugh. "That's my girl!"

The Sloanes sat down and Angier turned to Vincent. "How is your photography…progressing?"

Vincent stared off pensively. "Yesterday I photographed a dachshund that seemed to mock god."

Angier furrowed his brow. "Oh. That's…"

Amanda smiled warmly and offered the Sloanes some peppermint oil, which they politely declined. Never change, Mom and Dad, thought Jane.

"So!" Helen chimed in. "You look lovely tonight, Kay. Were you in the city for a party?"

Kay adjusted her diamond bracelet and replied, "Oh, yes! The mayor is a dear friend, and he always hosts a masquerade ball."

"The mayor!" Helen exclaimed. "Jake, isn't that fascinating?"

"Oh! Yeah, parties are great, honey!"

Helen appeared to fight a rising tide of irritation. Once it was contained, she smiled at the Sloanes, put on her reading glasses, and resumed checking work emails on her phone.

Jane gave Daria's hand a secret squeeze and took out one of the sketching pencils she was never without, then began to doodle in the margins of a children's activity book. She must have drifted off because the next thing she knew, she was wiping a bit of her drool off Daria's shoulder as an ecstatic Tom bore down upon them, flannel pajama pants flying about his pale ankles (he and Trent had been spending a quiet night at home when Jane called to let them know they were on the way to the hospital).

Tom came to an abrupt halt before the family party with an enormous smile on his face. "She's here, and she's perfect." Kay and Angier bustled over to their son and wrapped him in hugs as the rest of the group brushed off crumbs, stowed magazines, and climbed to their feet.

It wasn't long until they were invited back to Quinn's room, where Jane immediately noticed she had brushed out her long red hair and put on mascara. Trent was standing beside the bed holding a tiny being in a pink blanket as he gazed down adoringly. He didn't realize they'd entered the room until Tom joined him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Daria approached the bed with hesitance. "How you feeling, sis?"

Quinn surprised them all by taking Daria's hand. "I'm good. You know, weird…but good. Sorry I called you head of the dork parade when you were helping me get in the car."

"Sorry I responded by calling you a barge-sized Raggedy Ann."

"Hey, Daria? Can you get me my phone?"

"Sure." She handed it over.

Quinn put on a wicked grin. "I can't wait to rub this in Sandi's face."

Twenty minutes later, when they'd all had a chance to admire the baby, Quinn yawned and asked for a grape soda. This granted Jane and Daria a few blissful moments to themselves by the vending machine. "So," Jane began, "that was…"

Daria put a few coins in the machine and looked at Jane. "Something that would be in violation of the Geneva Convention if it didn't happen naturally?"

Jane slowly nodded. "Yes."

Daria fed the last several coins into the slot and pressed the button, then turned to Jane with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I think it's safe to say another point goes on the 'no kids' side of the board."

Jane raised a finger, "But, to be fair, that kid is really stinkin' cute. And normally I think they look like aliens. So maybe a point for the pro-baby side, too?"

Daria kissed Jane on the cheek. "I know you're trying to consider the kid idea for my sake. But the thing is, you may not need to. Tonight was a horror show, we don't have surrogate money, and neither of us has the patience to let pizza rolls cool, much less spend years on an adoption waiting list."

"But what if you resent the hell out of me one day?"

Daria appeared to ponder for a moment. "Hmm. The more I think of childhood Quinn with her screeching and snot-covered dolls, the more unlikey resentment seems."

"But you don't know that."

"I know I could never resent you, Jane."

Jane stooped to get the grape soda and stood up with a pained look in her eyes. "Let's keep the baby board going for now, all right? It's the kind of thing you have to be sure about."

"Okay, babe," Daria answered softly.

As they were walking back to the room, Jane suddenly stopped. "Oh, Trent told me the middle name."

"So she's Madeleine…?"

Jane's eyes sparkled. "Madeleine Quinn."

A ghost of a smile crossed Daria's face as they joined hands and resumed walking. "I guess I owe you five bucks."

Jane stopped again, slid her arms around Daria's waist, and leaned in for a long, sweet kiss. "I'll let it slide."